


Proud

by Theo-Sev (Sevv7)



Category: RWBY
Genre: Family Bonding, Gen, Going Sober, IronQrow is very vaguely hinted at, looking after each other, making amends, set after v7 ch4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21647932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sevv7/pseuds/Theo-Sev
Summary: Yang feels uncomfortable with team RWBY's decision to keep Ironwood in the dark. She's tried voicing it to them directly but it's not really helped, so she turns to Uncle Qrow and hopes that he can help her figure out how she's feeling.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen & Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 5
Kudos: 49





	Proud

**Author's Note:**

> Set after V7C4

_ Knock. _

Qrow looked up, tearing his eyes away from the embroidering on the sleeves of his new shirt.

_ Knock. Knockknockknockknock. _

“Jeez. I’m comin’,” called Qrow, directing most of his frustration at the door itself rather than the insistent knocker.

“Well hurry up. It’s freezing out here!” came the distinct voice of his oldest niece from outside.

Qrow grinned, waiting at the door until he heard the telltale creak of Yang leaning against it from the other side, and then yanking it open in one fast motion which sent her crashing in with a yelp.

“Oops,” he murmured with a playful smile as he offered her a hand to get back up.

“You’re the worst, Uncle Qrow. The  _ worst. _ ” But Yang accepted his hand, pulling on it harder than necessary and laughing as he overbalanced a little.

She stood, carefully brushing herself off with an amused expression. It gave Qrow a sharp pang of nostalgia, back to the days where she was just a little golden haired kid, and all of their interactions were filled with smiles and laughter. There hadn’t been too much of that, recently. It was more Qrow’s fault than Yang’s, he conceded. He hadn’t been at his best for a long while now. But he was trying to change things, trying so hard to be the best Uncle to these wonderful girls who had already been through so much. And moments like this - where they could joke around and have fun and his presence was more a help than a hindrance - these were the moments that reminded him why he was trying.

“Uhh. Uncle Qrow?” Yang’s confused voice snapped Qrow back out of his head and into the room.

“Sorry kiddo,” he smiled apologetically, “Just… thinking.”

“Yeah. I hear that’s going ‘round lately,” she sighed heavily, throwing herself down into a chair without waiting for an invitation. “It’s even got me.”

“Oh?” Qrow sat down next to her, thankful he’d requested a room with enough living space for chats such as these.

“That’s actually kinda why I came to see you.”

“What is?” asked Qrow gently.

“The thinking…” she paused, Qrow could see her eyes go distant as she lost herself in thought. She was so much like her mother. “I - do you think we’re doing the right thing?”

Qrow’s eyes narrowed but he kept his voice neutral. “Yang, I...” He stopped, evaluating what she wanted to hear against his own thoughts, before settling on how best to help her. “Do  _ you  _ think you’re doing the right thing?”

Yang’s shoulders fell and she rested her elbows on her knees in a strange imitation of Qrow. “I don’t know,” she confessed. “Ruby - she thinks we need to wait until Ironwood proves we can trust him… Blake and Weiss too. But. I don’t know. They’re probably right.” She turned her head, letting her hair shield her face from him.

Qrow bent his neck and looked up at the ceiling. “Mmm, it’s a tough one,” he murmured. Yang nodded silently in his peripheral vision. “Spoken to them about it?” he asked after a while.

“Yep.”

“That help?”

Yang wrinkled her nose. “Eh. A bit. They all seem so sure of themselves…”

Qrow bit back a smile. “Ruby tell you about our chat yesterday? After your graduation?” He inflected the last word to highlight the absurdity of the whole thing - there was no mistaking that it was a kind gesture, a very James-like gesture, but it was just so bizarre after everything they had already gone through. Trust James to be the one to remember stuff like licenses…

“No, what chat?” asked Yang slowly. Of course, Qrow remembered now that she had been far too busy taking one-hundred-and-one selfies with her newly licensed teammates - mainly Blake though.

He shrugged, not wanting to get into his and Ruby’s talk if she hadn’t chosen to disclose it herself yet. “Let’s just say that I think she’s struggling with this decision as much as you are. But that’s fine, Yang. You’re all trying your best, and that’s all anyone is asking for.”

“I know… I just, I want to get it right. I don’t want to be like Ozpin and never trust anyone, y’know?”

Qrow gave a dry chuckle. “Oh, I know.”

Yang sighed, and let her head come down to rest in her hands. “When did everything get so complicated?”

“Heh, kid, it was  _ always  _ this complicated. You just didn’t know about it until recently.”

“Kid?” Yang’s face came back up, one eyebrow arched.

Qrow raised his hands in mock surrender and flashed her a crooked grin. “Okay, okay. I guess you aren’t a kid anymore.”

“Too right.” Yang swung a playful punch at Qrow’s shoulder. “I have the same status as you now don’t forget.”

“Yeah I’m going to see Jim about that - tell him he’s made a mistake… What?” Qrow caught Yang’s expression flicker from mirth to confusion, like she was trying to puzzle something out in her mind.

“Who’s Jim?”

“Oh, ah,” Qrow faltered slightly, he hadn’t meant to use that name. It was usually reserved just for winding James up, but more and more it had been sneaking itself into his everyday vocabulary. “I mean James. General James.” Damn, what did Qrow call him again? “Ah - General Ironwood. Ironwood.” 

“Ri-ight.” Yang drew out the word far longer than necessary.

Qrow didn’t know what point she was trying to make. He rubbed a hand against the back of his neck, wondering what Yang thought she’d figured out to make her eyes gleam like that.

“You know General Ironwood, right? Like,  _ know  _ know? Since before all of this?” she asked, eyeing Qrow with amusement.

“Yeah, a bit. Where are you going with this Yang?”

“Nowhere!” she protested, widening her eyes and smiling sweetly in an attempt at innocence.

“Good.” said Qrow, shortly.

Yang smirked and suppressed a laugh before falling quiet. When she spoke again, she sounded much more serious and unsure of herself. “Hey, Uncle Qrow?”

“Hm?”

“You ever… you ever get scared?”

Qrow felt his heart ache at how small her voice sounded. He sometimes forgot how much she had been through, even compared to the others. It was a lot; for someone so young.

“Sure I do,” he replied gently. “More often than you’d think, probably.”

Qrow swung an arm around her, resisting the urge to ruffle her hair like he used to when she was small.

“Everything just feels so… so big. It’s not how I thought it would be, being a Huntress…”

“Yeah. You’re tough, and you’re doing great, but it’s fine to feel that way. Yang I mean it.” Qrow rested his chin on top of Yang’s head as she clung onto him. “It’s fine.”

She sniffled a little, but when she moved away she had pulled herself together again. “Sorry,” she muttered.

Qrow shook his head. “Don’t be. There’re a lot worse ways to cope,” he smiled ruefully, thinking about how his methods usually ended in the bottom of a bottle.  _ Used to end, _ he amended. “I’m glad you came to talk to me.”

“I’m glad you were here…” Yang trailed off, her eyes looked slightly haunted, and Qrow wondered how many times he had let her down on the journey to Atlas. Too many. He would do better. She and Ruby  _ deserved  _ better.

Qrow decided to try for the truth, Yang had professed to be an adult now, after all, and he owed it to her. “I’m sorry for all the times I wasn’t,” he said slowly, noticing Yang’s eyebrows shoot up. “I… I’m giving it up. Drinking,” he clarified at her unspoken question.

The statement hung in the air between them, heavy. Qrow didn’t know what else to say other than what he already had. What if it was too late - what if it hadn’t been enough? Was he being naive to expect Yang and Ruby to just let him back in?

But then Yang was leaning over, climbing onto her knees so she had the height to wrap her arms around his neck. “I know, and we’re so proud of you Uncle Qrow,” she whispered.

Qrow felt his breath catch and suddenly his vision was swimming. “Proud of you too,” he mumbled.

“I know. I’m awesome.” And they both laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> This is just the product of me writing what I wanted to see/ read. It's such a shame that Yang and Qrow haven't have much screen time together for a while (unless I'm forgetting something). Interested to hear different takes on how this conversation could have gone? There were a few ideas I toyed with but this is ultimately what came out when I sat down!  
> Thanks for reading: )


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